


Simple Pleasures

by Rotpeach



Series: The Great Tumblr Rehoming of 2018 [18]
Category: Boyfriend to Death (Visual Novels)
Genre: Character Study, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, Medical Experimentation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2019-09-24 06:13:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17095355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rotpeach/pseuds/Rotpeach
Summary: Sano has a much better day.





	Simple Pleasures

**Author's Note:**

> originally written for goretober 2016; prompt "before the gore"
> 
> also a sequel to day 7 "saturnine"

Sano hits “record” and the tape reel begins turning.

“October 27th. Preliminary examination,” he says, and then pauses to lift the teacup to his lips and take a sip of the murky liquid. He leans over the kitchen counter massaging his temples. “Subject has yet to regain consciousness and cannot be verbally assessed, through I performed a brief physical assessment. They sustained a head injury during…” He pauses, tilting his head, and finishes with a quirk of his lips, “transport.”

(It hadn’t been more than a scuffle and he didn’t see it worthy of documentation. Something he’d said must have set the woman on edge because she’d heard him coming when he followed her outside. She tried slipping through the chattering crowd loitering outside of The Snake Pit to lose him, turned onto a dimly-lit side street and walked a little faster, but it didn’t matter; it was already too late. 

And Sano had counted how many times he could’ve ended the chase as he shadowed her footsteps, each dark alleyway and each precious second her attention was drawn to the bright screen of her cellphone, but he didn’t do anything until she suddenly stopped and looked back at him under the orange light of a flickering streetlamp. She locked eyes with him as if she thought that would scare him off, and then she lunged forward, fist raised.

He didn’t have to sidestep it. She swung wide, stumbling over her own feet, and he could see the moment when the incapacitating agent he slipped into her drink finally took effect. Her head collided with the closest alley wall as she went down.

He saw, for just a moment, regret shining in her eyes as she began to process what was happening, and then she hit the ground.)

“Uneven pupil dilation suggests a subdural hematoma, which will likely require immediate attention,” Sano continues, taking another sip of tea. “I intend to create a hole for trepanation through the left parietal bone in order to prevent compression of the brain. Without anesthesia, of course.”

“Did you get a little rough with them?”

Sano aspirates at just the wrong moment and hunches over the kitchen counter, coughing and trying not to choke on the tea going down his windpipe. He feels a hand land heavily on his back and glares at Akira standing next to him with a sheepish smile. “Damn, guess I should wear a bell next time. You really didn’t hear me come in?”

“I was busy,” Sano tells him, frown deepening when he realizes how defensive he sounds. “And get rough with who?”

“Our temporary guest. I mean, I assumed there was one since you’re,” his brother gestures vaguely at the tape recorder, “Doing whatever this is.”

“Making a dictation.”

“Right.” Akira raises a brow. “A tape recorder, though? You know what year it is, right?”

Sano swats his hand away before he can touch one of the buttons. “Are you just here to complain?”

His brother laughs and leans against the counter. “Nah. Just curious. Also, you didn’t answer my question.”

Sano shrugs and stops the recording. “It was an accident. A shame, too; she might not last long.”

Akira’s looking at him strangely and Sano’s eyes narrow in suspicion, but his brother speaks first. “What happened?”

“You’re being awfully nosy.”

“I’m just checking.”

When he reaches for the tea again, Sano glimpses the raw red line running down his hand and over his thumb where he’d had stitches before, barely noticeable and nearly healed by now. Inwardly, he sighs—of course Akira would look for it—but his gaze softens in understanding. “I used an orally-administered incapacitating agent,” he begins, rolling his eyes when Akira gives him a blank stare. “I put something in her drink, and it didn’t take effect right away. She injured herself once it did.”

Akira gives a slight nod, trying to look nonchalant, but Sano notices he looks more relaxed now. “Oh, that makes sense.”

“Akira,” Sano says sternly, “You didn’t need to check on me.”

His brother puts up his hands defensively, saying, “Whoa, you don’t need to jump to conclusions, I just—!”

“But I appreciate it all the same.”

Akira stops.

Sano thinks he might have actually rendered him speechless, a feat he doubts he’ll accomplish ever again. “I’m doing alright. I’d rather you not worry, but I’m grateful that you care enough to do so.”

“Sano,” Akira starts to say, but he never finishes that thought because a muffled scream drifts down the hall.

Sano takes a deep breath, an irritated scowl on his face.

“You’d better take care of that,” Akira tells him.

Sano mutters an irritated affirmative response but he doesn’t move with urgency. He takes a minute to finish his tea, casually makes his way down the hall, and slips on his gloves and lab coat.

The subject is still writhing on the table when he gets to the medical bay, pulling at the restraints in vain. Sano checked and double-checked them earlier; she isn’t going anywhere. He smiles absently, satisfied with his own preparedness.

“I’m afraid you’ve sustained a rather serious head injury,” he tells her. “I’m going to have to drill into your skull to drain the blood.”

“Are you kidding me?” the subject screams at him. “I don’t want you anywhere near me, you fucking psychopath. How do I know you’re telling the truth? You’ll probably just do something weird—!”

Sano slams his hand on the table beside her head, lowering his face closer to hers, and looks her dead in the eye.

(He remembers her trying the same thing on him before, but a rabbit does not stare down a wolf.)

“If I don’t perform this procedure,” he says, “you won’t survive and none of that will matter.”

She swallows nervously and the room is completely silent. Sano stands up straight and composes himself, smiling.

This time, he thinks confidently as he glances down at his gloved hand, everything will go the way it’s supposed.

**Author's Note:**

> original tag commentary included "hire me to transcribe your human experiment dictations," "i need some excitement in my life"


End file.
